BHUBANESWAR: Tea lovers who are tired of sipping the same old black tea are set to be delighted as blue tea, a healthy variant, seem to have seeped their way into multiple tea shops in the Capital.
This woody flavoured tea not only makes one feel afresh free but is tasty and healthy as well. With this changing trend, tea connoisseurs are now opting for this variant although it is available at select shops.
This variant of tea is prepared by infusing dried butterfly pea flower (Clitoria Ternatea) into hot water. After the leaves of this pea flowers are mixed with hot water it releases blue colour from which it derives its name. It is convenient to make and healthy too. However, one should be very careful as the flower should be properly dried and mixed with the boiled water to attain genuine colour and essence.
The colour of this variant can be modified to purple by adding lemon to it. Blue tea comes with a lot of health benefits like boosting memory, anti-ageing, anti-oxidants, anti-inflammation, preventing diabetes, boosting brain activity, prevention of depression and lowers risk of cancer among others. Orissa Post interacted with a few tea lovers and shop owners to delve deeper into the subject.
Sudhansu Ranjan, a student and gym trainer, said, “Earlier, I used to take green tea as it is very healthy. However, I started taking Blue tea a few months before as it energises me. It helps in repairing cellular damage. It is liked mostly by the young girls as it has great anti-aging properties. It also prevents hair fall. It is also a great analgesic.”
A tea maker in a local tea shop said, “Blue tea is not available at all places of the Capital yet. However, tea lovers have shown a great liking for this variant due to its numerous health benefits. Also, it is quite convenient for us to serve this tea as it is quite appealing for our customers.”
Blue tea seems to have made an impression on tea lovers of the Capital due to its taste and health benefits. The gradual increase in its popularity would only augment the number of varieties for tea lovers to choose from.
Nidhi Sinha, OP